24 LC 55 0207S/AP
House Bill 1018 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Ridley of the 6
th
, Rhodes of the 124
th
, Burchett of the 176
th
, Williams
of the 148
th
, Ridley of the 22
nd
, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Titles 10 and 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commerce
1
and trade and crimes and offenses, respectively, so as to provide for protections of persons2
who own, purchase, or engage in the business of selling firearms; to prohibit financial3
institutions from requiring the use of a firearms code that distinguishes firearms retailers4
from other retailers; to prohibit discrimination against firearms retailers by financial5
institutions through the use of a firearms code; to prohibit the disclosure of certain financial6
records by financial institutions; to provide for petitions to the Attorney General to7
investigate alleged violations; to prohibit persons or government entities from keeping8
registries of firearms or owners of firearms; to provide for construction; to provide9
definitions; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:11
SECTION 1.12
Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commerce and trade, is13
amended by revising Part 7 of Article 15 of Chapter 1, relating to the "Georgia Firearms14
Industry Nondiscrimination Act," as follows:15
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"Part 7
16
10-1-439.17
This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Firearms Industry18
Nondiscrimination Act.'19
10-1-439.1.20
As used in this part, the term:21
(1) 'Disclose a financial record' means transfer, publish, or distribute protected financial
22
information to another person for any purpose other than to:23
(A) Process or facilitate a payment card transaction; or24
(B) Take any actions related to dispute processing, fraud management, or protecting25
transaction integrity from concerns related to illegal activities or cyber risks.26
(2) 'Financial institution' means any bank, trust company, building and loan association,27
credit union as defined in Code Section 7-1-4, merchant acquirer limited purpose bank28
as defined in Code Section 7-9-2, federally chartered banking institution that accepts state29
deposits, or entity involved in facilitating or processing payment card transactions,30
including, but not limited to, an acquirer, a payment card network, or a payment card31
issuer.32
(3) 'Financial services' means any service or product offered to the consumer or business33
market by a bank, trust company, building and loan association, credit union as defined34
by Code Section 7-1-4, any merchant acquirer limited purpose bank as defined in35
paragraph (7) of Code Section 7-9-2, or a federally chartered banking institution that36
accepts state deposits financial institution.37
(4) 'Firearms code' means the Merchant Category Code 5723 approved by the38
International Organization for Standardization or any other merchant category code or39
indicator that a financial institution assigns to a merchant or to a payment card transaction40
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that identifies whether the merchant is a firearms retailer or whether the payment card41
transaction involves the purchase of a firearm or ammunition.42
(5) 'Firearms retailer' means any person physically located in this state that is engaged43
in the lawful business of selling or trading firearms or ammunition.44
(6) 'Payment card' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 10-15-1.45
(7)(2) 'Person' means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, limited liability46
companies, corporations, unincorporated organizations, mutual companies, joint stock47
companies, trusts, agents, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers,48
labor organizations, public bodies, and public corporations and the State of Georgia and49
all political subdivisions and agencies thereof or other legal or business entities. Such50
term shall include federally chartered banking institutions that accept state deposits.51
(8) 'Protected financial information' means any record of a sale, purchase, return, or52
refund involving a payment card that is retrieved, characterized, generated, labeled,53
sorted, or grouped based on the assignment of a firearms code.54
(3)(9) 'Trade association' means any corporation, unincorporated association, federation,55
business league, or professional or business organization not organized or operated for56
profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private57
shareholder or individual; that is an organization described in Section 501(c)(6) of58
Title 26 of the United States Code and exempt from tax under Section 501(a) of such59
title; and two or more members of which are manufacturers or sellers of a qualified60
product as defined by Section 7903(4) of Title 15 of the United States Code.61
10-1-439.2.62
(a) Unless otherwise precluded by law, regulation, or membership eligibility, it shall be63
an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to refuse to provide financial services64
of any kind to, to refrain from continuing to provide existing financial services to, to65
terminate existing financial services with, or to otherwise discriminate in the provision of66
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financial services against a person or trade association solely because such person or trade
67
association is engaged in the lawful commerce of firearms or ammunition products and is68
licensed pursuant to Chapter 44 of Title 18 of the United States Code or is a trade69
association.70
(b) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any financial institution to require
71
the usage of a firearms code in a way that distinguishes a firearms retailer that is physically72
located in this state from general merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers, unless73
such required usage of a firearms code is based on a good faith conclusion that such action74
is required by applicable law or regulation.75
(c) It shall be unlawful for any financial institution to discriminate against a firearms76
retailer by declining a lawful payment card transaction based solely on the assignment or77
nonassignment of a firearms code; provided, however, that a financial institution may78
decline or otherwise refuse to process a payment card transaction on the basis of a firearms79
code if such action is requested by the customer or is the result of fraud prevention80
procedures or merchant category exclusions offered by the financial institution for the81
purpose of expenditure control or corporate payment card control.82
(d) Except as otherwise required by law or regulation, a financial institution shall not83
disclose a financial record, including a firearms code that was collected in violation of84
subsection (b) of this Code section, unless such disclosure is based on a good faith85
conclusion that it was required by applicable law or regulation.86
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall limit the ability of a financial institution to negotiate87
with responsible parties or otherwise impair the financial institution's actions related to88
dispute processing, fraud management, or protecting transaction integrity from concerns89
related to illegal activities or cyber risks.90
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10-1-439.3.
91
(a)
Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that any person is engaging, has92
engaged, or is about to engage in any act or practice declared unlawful by this part, the93
Attorney General shall, upon written request made pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code94
section or by his or her own initiative, investigate and, upon finding a probable violation95
of this part, bring an action in the name of the state against such person to:96
(1) Obtain a declaratory judgment that the act or practice violates the provisions of this97
part;98
(2) Enjoin any act or practice that violates the provisions of this part by issuance of a99
temporary restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction, without bond, upon100
the giving of appropriate notice; and101
(3) Recover civil penalties of up to $10,000.00 per violation of this part or any102
injunction, judgment, or consent order issued or entered into under the provisions of this103
chapter and reasonable expenses, investigative costs, and attorney's fees.104
Provided, however, that no action shall be brought by the Attorney General under this105
subsection until after the person who is alleged to have violated this part has received106
written notice from the Attorney General of the alleged violation and failed to cease the107
activity that is alleged to be a violation of this part within 30 days of receiving such notice.108
(b) Any person who is the subject of an action believed to be in violation of this part may109
request, in writing, that the Attorney General investigate the alleged violation pursuant to110
subsection (a) of this Code section.111
(c) The remedies set forth in this Code section shall be the exclusive remedies for112
violations of this part.113
10-1-439.4.114
The provisions of this part shall not apply to any bank, trust company, credit union, or115
merchant acquirer limited purpose bank that is chartered under the laws of this state or any116
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other state to the extent that federal law precludes or preempts or has been determined to
117
preclude or preempt the application of the provisions of this part to any federally chartered118
bank, trust company, credit union, or merchant acquirer limited purpose bank."119
SECTION 2.120
Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, is121
amended in Code Section 16-11-129, relating to weapons carry license, gun safety122
information, temporary renewal permit, mandamus, and verification of license, by revising123
subsection (k) as follows:124
"(k) Data base prohibition.125
(1) As used in this subsection, the term:
126
(A) 'Government entity' means an office, agency, authority, department, commission,127
board, body, division, instrumentality, or institution of the state or of any county,128
municipal corporation, or consolidated government within this state.129
(B) 'Multijurisdictional data base' means a data base of information shared between or130
among more than one government entity or between or among a government entity and131
any office, agency, authority, department, commission, board, body, division,132
instrumentality, or institution of the United States or of any other state.133
(2) No A person or government entity shall knowingly and willfully:134
(A) not create Create or maintain a multijurisdictional data base of information135
regarding persons issued or who have applied for weapons carry licenses; or136
(B) Keep, or cause to be kept, any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms137
or owners of such firearms; provided, however, that nothing in this subparagraph shall138
prohibit a person from keeping, or causing to be kept, any list, record, or registry of139
firearms owned by such person."140
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SECTION 3.
141
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.142
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